Sennheiser Headphones Into Broken IPhone Headphones

Recently my iPhone headphones broke and so I decided to use the Sennheiser CX 300 headphones and reuse the iPhone cable, as it has a mic and a button to skip and forward songs. I did not want to get the new iPhone headphones as the sound quality is not so good, and they hurt my ears.

Here I will show you that its not so hard to do this hack. All you will need is an old ATM or credit card, and a soldering iron.

Supplies:

Step 1: Use ATM Card to Pry Open the Sennheiser Headphones

Use the ATM or credit card to push out the metal rings around the Sennheiser headphones. Be assertive and gentle when doing this, and do not use a knife or anything metallic, as you might accidentally damage or scratch your new headphones.

Step 2: Pop Open the Sennheiser Headphones

Once the metal rings are off, keep them in a secure place and pop open the headphones to reveal the actual tiny speakers.

Step 3: Break Open the IPhone Headphone

Instead of cutting the iPhone cables, its best to use the complete length of wire, so I use a knife to break open the one functional iPhone headphone. Also it might be a good idea to mark the left and right headphone cable for later.

Step 4: Desolder the Cables From the IPhone Headphones

Now use a soldering iron to desolder the cables from the iPhone headphones, and undo the knot in the cables.

Step 5: Very Carefully Desolder the Sennheiser Headphones

Now get someone to help you to keep everything steady, and very carefully desolder the cables from the Sennheiser headphones.

Step 6: Unknot the Cable From the Sennheiser Body and Pull It Out

Now unknot the cable from the Sennheiser headphone body and pull out the cable and dispose of it. We will only need the plastic shielding and headphone body.

Now first straighten the iPhone cable and carefully thread the Sennheiser body and plastic shielding from the previous step through the iPhone cables. Make sure you have the left and right headphone cable marked so that you thread the correct plastic body through the correct cable.

Use some saliva as a lubricant and also to clean some of the glue on the cables etc. In the end fasten a knot at the end of the iPhone cables, preferably at the same place the original knot was.

Step 8: Solder the Sennheiser Headphone to IPhone Headphone Cable

Now the crucial step. Solder the Sennheiser headphone to the iPhone cables. Repeat for second headphone.

Step 9: Test If the Headphones Work

Now before closing everything up, its a good idea to test if the headphones work.

Step 10: Close Up the Headphones

Now pull the cables till the knot and close up the headphones. Finally push in the metal rings and you are ready to go.

To replace the 3.5mm plug, you would have to find a four conductor plug. The iPhone and iTouch headphones have a fourth wire that is used to send control data and for the microphone. secondly, gold is not the best conductor as many manufactures want you to believe, silver is the best, gold is second best. Even with the standard plug you won't notice a difference in sound quality with these ear-buds, but with higher-end earphones you may want gold or silver plated.